Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation

This is a discussion on Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation within Street Experiences, part of the Buckle Up category; Originally Posted by rki2007
I see most of the cars with just one person (driver) travelling in it. Please think ...

I see most of the cars with just one person (driver) travelling in it. Please think sensibly, one car will occupy the space of 4-5 two wheelers. At this juncture, isn't it sensible to travel by a two wheeler if just one person would want to travel. It will save your time, cost less and more importantly, a small contribution from our side to ease traffic.

It will also become a small contribution from our side to ease the population growth in the country.

I tried this two-wheeler business during Dec-Feb, and finally gave it up as a bad idea, primarily because of the constant threat to life and limb. Every single day there would be at least a couple of instances where an accident is avoided only in the nick of time.

Saw a couple of truck breakdowns on the way from EC to Whitefield.
1. In front of the Varthur police station T-junction, in the lane towards Whitefield
As of 8:25 I did not see any pileups at varthur.

2. A fully laden lorry has got stuck in mud in the Nallaruhalli 'byepass'. I even say a few vehicles taking the usual road through the village. Not sure if BWSSB has covered up that area.
Tankers, for once have decided to act sanely and stopped their trucks and were trying to help. as of 8:45, traffic hasn't piled up there, but is building up in the rode from Vydehi to Nallaruhalli.

It will also become a small contribution from our side to ease the population growth in the country.
...because of the constant threat to life and limb

A close friend and I used to car-pool, because her office was close to mine. Beginning this year, due to 'business reasons', I had to move to a facility along the ORR, and the car-pooling business stopped but I still drive to office and back - 90% of the time I will be the only occupant. I do feel guilty at times, but for the most part, I feel a lot safer - for myself and for others, than while riding a 2-wheeler. I've lost count of the narrow escapes that I myself witness every day, despite leaving for work and back before the actual traffic builds up.

If you are on undivided roads, then the risks are far higher for 2-wheelers, thanks to the blinding high beams + BBMP/BDA/BWSSB/BESCOM's uncanny knack of digging up roads and laying humps at places where you least expect them.

The reason is pretty simple Sir. Everyone wants to travel by Car which is why we see so much of gridlocks everywhere.

I see most of the cars with just one person (driver) travelling in it. Please think sensibly, one car will occupy the space of 4-5 two wheelers. At this juncture, isn't it sensible to travel by a two wheeler if just one person would want to travel. It will save your time, cost less and more importantly, a small contribution from our side to ease traffic.

Much better than a two wheeler is a bicycle. Its good for your health as well. Unfortunately we Indians fail to adopt those good habits from the West where people use bicycle for short distances.

There is no point in complaining the Govt in terms of infrastructure in our Country where nothing would change and even if there was a change, it wouldn't be for something good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

You have made a valid point. But to commute on 2 wheelers in such a dusty environment (dusty roads) , your health will take a severe beating. I work in ITPL and in situations where i have to go late to office i usually prefer my 2 wheeler. The reason being i can take the vehicle on interior roads. But the downside is such roads are awfully dusty.
After reaching the parking lot, i parked my scooty, took out my jacket and shook it gently. I noticed a small cloud of dust popping off my jacket. This is for a day's commute.
Imagine if i were to go daily to office by 2 wheeler. Probably i should book a ward permanently in my name in the hospital.

@suresh_gs - You forgot to mention the spitting!!! This is done even by the so called highly qualified professionals without any sense of shame. A couple of days ago when stopped at a signal, a well dressed dude complete with a tie in a Octavia just ahead of me, lowered his window and donated quite liberally to the well being of his countrymen. After the act, he continued his conversation with the lady passenger in the front seat and she expressed no disgust or even discomfort. Evidently, this is a habit.

It is righteous to say that some gridlocks can be averted by reducing the number of larger vehicles and even more holy to do that in a bicycle. I will not whine about lack of infrastructure in my country, but I do have grievance on the way my countrymen use the infrastructure. My car gives me protection from a lot of things like the pan chewing Octavia guy, honking maniacs, the street-smart ones who don't really understand that red means "stop" or lane discipline and BMTC drivers who are above everything else. Yes I am contributing to the gridlocks, but it is what will give me a better chance to survive a day's commute. This is a situation we made for ourselves, I wouldn't advise anyone to reduce the number of wheels till we become more civilized, gridlocks are more preferable than time in hospitals or worse.

And the irony is that in the mornings I go cycling for fitness/leisure.

Guess I am in a minority here. I feel much more comfortable taking my bike as opposed to my car in Bangalore traffic. If I am going alone, either the office commute or anywhere else in the city, I always take the bike. Only if there is a specific need I take the car.

But one thing I noticed is that to be comfortable on a bike, you need to have a bike that is a high performer, can keep up with the average speed of traffic especially in roads like ORR and can out accelerate most other vehicles around you. I have commuted to office a few times on a scooter and felt very vulnerable on the Ring Road.

Having said all that, the recent articles on air quality levels in Bangalore has me worried.

Guess I am in a minority here. I feel much more comfortable taking my bike as opposed to my car in Bangalore traffic. If I am going alone, either the office commute or anywhere else in the city, I always take the bike. Only if there is a specific need I take the car.

But one thing I noticed is that to be comfortable on a bike, you need to have a bike that is a high performer, can keep up with the average speed of traffic especially in roads like ORR and can out accelerate most other vehicles around you. I have commuted to office a few times on a scooter and felt very vulnerable on the Ring Road.

Having said all that, the recent articles on air quality levels in Bangalore has me worried.

I'm with you. It's a ritual to check the weather forecast for the day every morning and take the car out only if there's rain predicted. This in spite of having to commute 60 km everyday from one corner of the city to another. I agree with all the points you have mentioned. Regarding the dust, a good jacket, helmet and balaclava are compulsory to save yourself from it!

It will also become a small contribution from our side to ease the population growth in the country.

I commute 55 + Km a day ( 2 way) to work in a car and while coming to office I carry air on the seats and while going back I sometimes carry some coworkers with me. I tried bringing bike for the same reason you mentioned and had couple of accidents in a space of 2 years and both the times I was hit from the back by cars. After that I did not risk my life again.

My wife commutes 6 Kms a day and she uses a car too, reason is simple just to be safe. There were multiple incidents reported in the road which she takes to work. The point is we do think of the society but the risk is much bigger. Bangalore is one of the worst place to commute in a bike. Anyday I would love to take my bull ( 1999 Royal Enfield Machismo) out to office than driving my car but again I want to come back home in 1 piece.

My wife commutes 6 Kms a day and she uses a car too, reason is simple just to be safe. There were multiple incidents reported in the road which she takes to work. The point is we do think of the society but the risk is much bigger. Bangalore is one of the worst place to commute in a bike. Anyday I would love to take my bull ( 1999 Royal Enfield Machismo) out to office than driving my car but again I want to come back home in 1 piece.

Very true. The roads are full of inexperienced, incomplete and irresponsible drivers. I am not referring to the people who cause accident's accidentally. There are a bunch of people who are well aware of their so called "stunts" and the consequences it can have and they simply don't care as long as they can come safely out of it.

And its not only the accidental safety that one needs to worry. There are many dark pockets in cities and in rural places to where you could end up losing your valuables, even the vehicle or at times one's valuable life. A four wheeler with sufficient safety and warning features comes in really handy.

There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

Dear Friends,
A meeting was held on traffic issues near Eco-space on ORR on 16.4.2015. Sri Kupendra Reddy, MP and BTP team headed by Sri MNBR Prasad, DCP, Traffic East Division along with jurisdictional ACP's, Area Traffic Inspectors of Madiwala & HAL Airport Traffic PS.
In Recent days we were receiving many complaints regarding traffic issues near Eco-space via twitter as well as Facebook. In this regard as our first step, the gap in the median in-front of ECO space is now opened, to avoid traffic jam.

It isn't that unsafe as it is portrayed to be. There are lakhs of two wheeler riders out there in the City and not everyone comes back home in more than one piece or handicapped.

No offense meant to anyone but unfortunately, everyone has a reason to travel by car and avoid a two wheeler for what so ever reasons.

At the end of the day, all roads are gridlocked, everyone suffers in the traffic with a helpless face, more fuel consumed causing scarcity of resources, exorbitant time to cover even short distance and what not.

I accept that there are other external elements like Dust etc when one commutes on a two wheeler. But a proper riding gear will save you from all this.

Last edited by rki2007 : 16th April 2015 at 19:04.
Reason: spelling mistakes

It isn't that unsafe as it is portrayed to be. There are lakhs of two wheeler riders out there in the City and not everyone comes back home in more than one piece or handicapped.

No offense meant to anyone but unfortunately, everyone has a reason to travel by car and avoid a two wheeler for what so ever reasons.

Agree totally
I would also add, if one has flexible work timings, plan your ride/drive time. Early morning traffic before 8 am is usually manageable in many places.
I have used the 2 wheeler for 3 months now and could manage it. But last week onwards, switched back to the car due to the rains.

You spoke my mind. Let me list what I follow when commuting in traffic.

1. Wear safety gear - Of course the basic thing that most of us follow. Mesh jacket, Helmet with Balaclava (Preferably heat resistant to minimize sweat) and good city gloves.

2. Most of us commute in the same route everyday. Or in some cases 2 or 3 'tried and tested' routes. If you keenly observe junctions, there is a particular lane that most taxis take. For example if it's a right turn, most nincompoop taxi drivers take the left lane cutting across other vehicles. At such junctions I stay clear of them and stay with the well behaved vehicles. I am used to this now and am automatically on the correct lane everywhere.

3. I'm constantly aware of who's behind me. With experience all of us can make out a rogue driver. If he's behind me, I let him overtake me at the next possible opportunity. If he's ahead, I stay clear of him.

4. I am always at the speed of traffic or faster than average speed of traffic for any given road but never slower. I have noticed that I am always at risk of being bulldozed or run over when I am slower than the average speed of traffic. This is where it's important to have a powerful vehicle.

5. Needless to say, I am very cautious and early while braking to ensure the guy behind me gets time to brake. Of course, I maintain distance from the vehicle ahead of me so that I have time to brake. In a car this is tough as a stupid 2-wheeler commuter will snuggle in between your car and the vehicle ahead. But in a motorbike, this is possible as stupid cars can't snuggle in between easily.

6. In B2B traffic, I stay behind cars and don't unnecessary poke my nose in every possible gap. I have noticed that after a while the car driver behind me notices and understands this and starts treating me like another car. So I command respect

7. I am a Roman in Rome. If I see a traffic signal where everyone is moving when it's red, I first check if it's possible to stop for red safely, on either corner of the road. If it's not, I move. I am no Mahatma Gandhi.

These are some things that have become a habit. I always tell people that among 2 wheelers, there are 'Point to point 2 wheeler commuters' and 'bikers'. I am the latter and a safe one.

PS: However, I strongly advocate a car in city conditions when it's raining. Most people who don't ride 2 wheelers are ignorant about the risks involved for a two wheeler when the road is wet. For example, I read an unsympathetic post in one of the threads expecting 2 wheelers to ride 'normally' even in wet conditions because it was slowing his car down.

To me, a two wheeler is the choice if
1. No rains
2. Sane hours
3. Interior road availablity
4. Distance is less than 10 KMs.

My office is just 8 KMs, should be a breeze except for the KRPuram and Doddanekkundi in between! What takes ~30 mins in bike, takes 1+hrs many times on car.

I think, even in Bangalore, if one drop the ego and be defensive in driving, two wheeler is not a bad choice. For e.g. don't expect the guy in front to brake slow or the car behind to brake as fast or do expect guy just ahead of you to intrude into your lane with no notice, etc.. It becomes a habit in a while .

Apart from the time, effort and cost savings, it is the stress saving that I get on two wheeler that is most worthy!

I always take my bike to work. It is a 35km commute, but I have never taken the car to work till date. I have considered it when it rains, but have taken the bike eventually. It is much easier to change clothes in office rather than to get stuck in traffic in a car.

I even pick up my colleague near office and both of us reach office together! As for the dust, a good helmet, a clean visor and a balaclava will provide very good resistance to dust.

I always wear riding gear. A mesh jacket and semi-gauntlet gloves. People ask me if I am crazy to wear this in the sweltering heat. I tell them that I put a high price on my safety.

I have travelled almost 50,000km by bike in the past 4-5 years. And *touchwood*, not a single accident. Very minor bumps here and there, but nothing else. Being careful definitely helps.

Here's a rant!

BTP tried their best by barricading a part of the road to prevent these circus monkeys from driving on the wrong side of the road.

But alas, looks like these monkeys need a master with a whip to be around to behave! They are waiting to go around the barricades to drive on the wrong side of the road. What use is education to such nincompoops?

This is at Kundalahalli Gate, on the 16th of April 2015 at around 10:05AM.